We just got back from a trip to the Pacific Northwest. Part of it was personal business, and part was strictly vacation. We arrived at Sea-Tac after a VERY long trip from St Thomas at 9:30pm. I had booked a room via Expedia at the Roadway Inn for the only reasons anyone would stay there- it is close to the airport, they have a free shuttle and it's cheap! (Hint: spend the extra money and book at the Clarion next door, at least they have a restaurant.) The next morning, we set off on the
Light Rail to downtown, where a rental car was $37/day instead of $97/day at the airport. So we spent the next few days doing some of the personal business stuff, but I wanted to comment on some of our stops.
ANACORTES:
We stayed at the
Marina Inn. Very highly recommended. We had a huge room with fridge, sink and microwave, free wi-fi, laundromat in the building. Free hot cookies in the evening and a free breakfast with Tully's coffee! (I feel about Starbucks about how Carol Hill feels about Facebook!) We were ready to move in. Great entertainment at the
Rockfish Grill. I know all you people in Big America are probably sick of it, but it is a treat for us to have locally crafted beers and ales. Rockfish makes theirs next door- you can watch them working through a window. We had dinner at
A'Town Bistro. It was a little too Portlandia for us. Thought we would be individually introduced to the shrimp they had gotten from the local shrimper . They had weird stuff (to me!) like tap wines and nitro beer. The food was good, I'll have to admit.
SEATTLE:
I booked a room at
The Edgewater Hotel - because it is the iconic spot where the Beatles stayed in 1964 and because it was right next door to the pier where the Victoria Clipper docks. If you realize that iconic hotels usually have teeny tiny rooms AND you have to pay for wi-fi, you will be less annoyed that you are spending three times as much as you did for huge space and free wi-fi. I am still puzzled by the Santa Fe coffee in the city that just about invented coffee. At least there were 16 Starbucks within a block of the hotel. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> It was sunny in Seattle- but it was cold enough that we actually used the fireplace in the room several times. The hotel restaurant, Six Seven, had great cocktails and small plate/apps. We didn't dine in the restaurant, but in the bar area. Cost is consistent with iconic hotels where the Beatles stayed in 1964.
We did a lot of tourist stuff- the Space Needle (we were there on a gloriously clear day when you could see Mt Rainier and all the other peaks), the monorail, the market, the waterfront,
Ye Olde Curiosity Shop , etc. I was not too enamoured with most of downtown Seattle- the punk skateboarders, beggars, women pushing dogs in baby carriages (is this a new trend?), smokers bunched around the corners...
We did stumble into
Maximilien Restaurant in the Pike Place Market. OMG! We had a wonderful slow, late lunch of moules marinieres and a brie cheeseburger (said the non-fish eater- "The best cheeseburger I have ever had!")and wine and local ale. It was absolutely wonderful. I refused to have any more mussels for the rest of the trip because they were that good and I knew everything else would be disappointing.
We also took a ferry to Bainbridge Island for an afternoon. Again, it was a sunny day, but breezy. We wandered the main street and ended up at
Cafe Nola for lunch. It was warm enough to sit out on the patio! A nice local wine from
Eleven Winery , although we missed the tasting room. There was a classic wooden boat show at the marina, so we walked down and slobbered over the canoes, sail boats, power boats a bit. (LOL, I overheard a guy telling his female companion: "I want you to go aboard Joe's boat...Are you wearing heels??" In fact, she was.)
We did have absolutely perfect weather the entire time we were there. I think it rained half of one day. We really are like the Joads on vacation. Our idea of fun is to go to the grocery store and look at the fresh produce. Strawberries and asparagus were in season. Yum and yum...
Will do our trip to Victoria in a separate post.
